Suzanne Palmer is the best singer I know. We made a lot of music together, including a tune I co-wrote for her that was produced by Earth Wind and Fire mastermind Maurice White. Check the soul diva at Suzanne Palmer.com Rokko Jans invited me to share song-writing duties for his "Captain Marbles" musical at the old St. Nicholas Theatre. Rokko, resident composer for Chicago Shakespeare Company, scored House of Games and The Winslow Boy for longtime colleague David Mamet. ALSO FROM CHICAGO: Jim Morris played bass for one of my early bands, Huge Hart, and now plies his craft as full-time copywriter and part- time crank.

Russian emigre Alex Kharlamov is a gifted composer-engineer and inventor or weird instruments. I recorded Code at his home studio in Sherman Oaks.

Helen Darling worked on a batch of songs with me when we both still lived in Chicago. She co-wrote a top ten country hit "Bring on the Rain" a couple years ago.

Doug Hoekstra and I teamed up on a ton of songs in Chicago. Ridiculously prolific -- he writes short stories too -- Doug has toured Europe extensively and released six solo records since moving to Nashville.

Before joining pop maestro Brian Wilson to re-record the former Beachboy's masterpiece Smile Chicago session players Jim Hines, Bob Lisec and Paul Mertens played drums, bass and saxophone with me in various musical projects.